MAP BioPharma

The UK is to ratify plans to create a patent court that will span the European Union, in a move that will spur speculation the Government is preparing for a soft Brexit with close ties to the EU.

Following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, it was widely expected that the UK would pull out of plans to create a single European patent system. “As the Prime Minister has said, for as long as we are members of the EU, the UK will continue to play a full and active role,” said Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the minister for intellectual property. “We will seek the best deal possible as we negotiate a new agreement with the European Union.”

In a decision that confounded expectations following the referendum, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, has confirmed that the UK will press ahead with ratification of the EU’s patent plans.